Getting our new pound puppie tomorrow
Excited!

I have had my name down with our local rescue organisation to say I was interested in a small breed female as a buddy for our little dog Harry. Got a call late last week to say there was a little girl in the local pound that they thought would suit. She had to stay in there her required days, but was not collected, so I am going to collect her from the animal rescue tomorrow.

She is a rough coat Jack Russle, about 18 months old. Has been with a carer for the last two days and has been great with her other dogs, so that is a good sign!

Her name is Molly, but my SIL's dog is Molly, so I think I will have to change it. Was thinking perhaps Lollie or Polly.

Well what an interesting day it has been! Harry and Sally (to be confirmed) took to each other immediately, it was really lovely. I took them for a short walk together before driving home. The trip home was interesting, I put them in the side door of my van, by the time I got round to the drivers side she was on my seat!

I spent 3 hours at home with them before I had to go down and pick the kids up from school. In that time she seemed as though she had already taken on the roll of top dog. If I sat down she was there, if Harry came near me she would basically chastise him and he would then stand back. But basically they were fine together. I gave them some food, in the one bowl and there seemed no problems there at all.

Fast forward half an hour! Getting home with the kids I took a little longer getting in the house as I have my girl in a wheelchair to unload. By the time I got inside my son was out the back. Sally made it very clear to Harry that he was not to go near him, and we ended up with a bit of a fight, that was soon under control.

In that time that we were away she also managed to find a very big farmers friend bush that was growing up on our retaining wall in underneath a shrub! That was not a fun job!

You have to upload the photo so to somewhere like Facebook or photobucket or IMGur, and then when you go to reply click "insert image" which is right next to the "insert link" which is just to the right of the emoticons button in the middle of the "add a reply" toolbar.

Then you put the address of the uploaded image into that, and it should come up.

Hmm, meal time was indeed interesting. Put food into separate bowls, a few meters apart. Sally would not let Harry eat. We had to wait till she was finished, take her away and then Harry could have a go.

Does this sound like normal "getting to know you" behavior or signs of something worse? She is not responding to Sally yet, or Molly for that matter. I try and reprimand her when she has a go at Harry.

Harry is in his kennel and she is on my DD's old cot doona right next to the kennel. Will see what the morning brings. Am expecting a call from rescue group on Tuesday. We basically have her on a trial to start with before making the ultimate decision. Either way she is going back to them next Thursday as she is not yet desexed, and they have said they will keep her for a week or so while she recovers.

She had a microchip and the owner is apparently a registered JR breeder. The rescue group suggested she could actually be purebred.

She won't have learned Sally already and plenty of dogs even if they know their name won't listen to it from a person they don't know. When she does something NO worthy I would just rumble NO at her as deep as you can get your voice.

I would gladly lend you my man voice - my brother has teased me about my yelling-at-dogs-manly-voice for years, says he has a brother.

My dogs (and cats for that matter) have learned their new names best when there's food involved that's not in any way professional advice.

ho hum. Poor Harry is getting bashed up by Miss Sally! What started off as play fighting last night has now turned to actual fighting. Have broken up 4 disputes already today. I have a lightweight chain ready to put her on next time it happens. I understand that it is all sorting out position in the pack etc, but wow, hard to watch. She is the agressor, poor Harry is not sure what is going on.

DS and I took them for a long walk this morning, nearly an hour. I think 1 have one arm longer than the other.

Hopefully things get better soon.

My deep voice has been getting a workout, sadly I don't think it is deep enough though!

Ah, the dominant JR. Some of that will hopefully calm down when she is desexed. However, she doesn't appear at all worried or nervous, or anxious. In which case, I suggest a squirter or spray gun of some sort, 1 part vinegar, 10 parts water - and reinforce your deep angry man voice (and I recommend saying BAH! rather than no), with a squirt or two. And then proceed to time out.

And don't forget to reward both her and Harry for their GOOD behaviour. Have liver treat on hand and use it to support all displays of good manners and socialising. She may never have worked out from her previous owners what 'good' behaviour was, so may not have an alternative to go to.

Poor Harry. Don't let her hurt him, he was there first. Feed them in separate rooms, where they can't even see each other. Don't force the "lets be friends" issue, if she tries it on, stick her outside or in a crate.

I'm surprised the rescue organisation didn't alert you to these problems....did they not temp test her with other dogs? And don't be afraid to return her if you feel you aren't coping. JRT's can be a real handful and this one sounds like she needs some serious work.

Have been trying to set up a photobucket account, but having problems. Can I email a picture to someone to upload for me? I would rather not post my facebook.

I chained her up for a few hours late yesterday. We had a dinner to go to, and she had been a little unpredictable, so thought it was the safest. She has obviously spent time on a chain before as she had no problems with it whatsoever.

She has settled down quite a bit, and is responding to my voice, a big positive. I took them both walking for a good hour this morning, using Harry's harness this time and she was much better on the lead. I don't think she has been walked much as walking in a straight line seems new to her!

On the downside thou- She nipped my DS yesterday afternoon, and again twice this morning. Didn't break the skin, but gave him a fright.- And even thou she is a little dog, she can jump and CLIMB!!! I caught her half way up our back gate yesterday afternoon. It is lattice with ivy growing over it, and we have some other lattice panels in different parts of the yard as well. Leaping from the retaining wall over onto the trampoline, and from the ground onto the trampoline is also a breeze. So I am worried that I am not going to be able to contain her in the yard. We have shrubs all along our back fence on one side, so she could quite easily climb up in the trees and go over the fence.

With a heavy heart I have decided that she is not the dog for our family. I got bitten this morning. There has been continued fighting and poor Harry is not happy. I feel horrible, but think she is probably best suited as an only dog. I have a daughter with special needs and I cannot take the risk that she will cop a bite.

My DH said he caught her up on our hot water system yesterday. She had jumped up onto our aircon box outside, then up onto the hot water system. From there it is not far to the fence, and I am sure she would work out that she can get out that way.

In between episodes thou she is a happy little dog, quite cruzy actually, but I feel like i have no choice.

I'm sorry to hear that things haven't worked out with Sally. It's quite devastating, I'm sure. It's good that you've found out now, though, in the trial period and it will help the rescue organisation to better select the right family for her. As you said, she's probably better off being an only dog. You made the right decision.

Linda, don't feel bad, this dog should never have been sold to you by the rescue group in the first place. In my opinion they were extremely irresponsible in rehoming a dog just days out of the pound......at the very least she should have been quarantined to make sure she was free of diseases. She should have been temperament tested with other dogs, cats and children if she was to be rehomed as a family pet. Unfair play on their part. The dog was in the pound for a reason, and you discovered it. She escapes. And she bites and fights. You'll find the right dog for you eventually, but widen your search to better and more responsible rescue groups, and registered breeders looking to rehome ex show and breeding dogs.

NO, do not feel guilty! You're doing the right thing. I take back any dogs that don't work out in a home - no matter when that is discovered. It's far better to work it out now than when you are all really attached.

It is not fair on Harry to keep her at your place if she is bossing him. And it's not fair on your kids. Don't give up. There IS a rescue dog somewhere for you - you just need to find the right one. Maybe go for either a little puppy (if Harry isn't really old) or an older more settled dog.

Don't give up. There IS a rescue dog somewhere for you - you just need to find the right one. Maybe go for either a little puppy (if Harry isn't really old) or an older more settled dog.

When I wanted to buy a second dog I took my girl to meet a dog who I thought would be a good match for her. Similar size, friendly and gentle with humans. However she just didn't care for him so sadly he stayed at the pound. I did get some flack for not rescuing him but the sad truth is that there are more dogs looking for homes than homes looking for dogs.So the search continued for the right dog. The next dog I took her to meet...... well it was love at first sight and the love affair has continued. He is an amazing dog and next month we will celebrate the 9th anniversary since he joined our family. They are a perfect match for each other and I couldn't be more pleased about the 10hour trip we made to go meet him.

When you find the right dog for Harry you will know and it will be a beautiful thing.

Thanks everyone! I have had trouble getting onto the rescue group today, had left two messages earlier and have just sent an email. I am not working tomorrow so will drop her back in the morning.

She found our fish pond today while I was at work. We have a tall ceramic pot that has some gold fish in it. She has actually been reaching up and drinking out of it all weekend, like Harry likes to do (they do have a water bowl), but today she must have realised there fishy's in there!! So we are one fishy down!

I will keep the doors open for another dog, and yes I think perhaps a younger dog may be a good option. I will probably wait till the new year though as we have a few busy weeks ahead.

I do feel a little let down by the group, and really she is not desexed yet, so if she happened to be in season I could have had all sorts of drama's!

I have a nice photo of the two of them I can email to someone to put up for me if you like, I think my google chrome is not liking the photobucket sign up.

HURRY, ENTRIES CLOSE TODAY! A magical hour of storytelling and sing-alongs with Julia from her best-loved storybooks, including The Gruffalo, What the Ladybird Heard, Room on the Broom and The Snail and the Whale. Win Melbourne, Geelong & Sydney tickets.